Sony Corp. said it will allow local businesses in the Tohoku region free use of its quake-damaged Sendai Technology Center to help them stay afloat.
Sony Corp. said it will allow local businesses in the Tohoku region free use of its quake-damaged Sendai Technology Center to help them stay afloat.
Although the center was damaged by tsunami in the March 11 disaster, plenty of floor space is still available for businesses that need it.
About 40,000 square meters of floor space will be made available to small businesses or research institutions that are seeking somewhere to operate after their own premises were damaged or destroyed in the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The floor space being offered represents about 30 percent of the total taken up by the Sendai Technology Center in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture.
The center was one of Sony's main domestic bases. It was primarily involved in the production and research and development of magnetic tape and optical disks. The site has a total floor space of about 113,000 square meters, but the first floor was damaged by tsunami.
Subsequent work to restore operations at the center led to the decision to continue with production of key products. However, the production of battery parts as well as projector polarizers was moved to plants in Fukushima Prefecture and elsewhere in Miyagi Prefecture.
The number of workers at the Sendai Technology Center was also reduced from approximately 1,400 at the end of April to about 1,000. This was done by transferring regular company employees to other posts and not extending the contracts of workers on fixed working periods.
That led to the opening up of about 10 buildings in the center complex, including a plant building, an office complex and a warehouse.
Sony will soon start screening applications from local companies and research institutes that want to move into the center before the end of the year. The company is now in talks with Miyagi prefectural government officials about what procedures to follow.
The central government is also considering including a measure in its third supplementary budget that would cover some of the expenses that the project will incur.
One idea being considered is to offer space at no charge to local small businesses that lost their plants and are looking for a temporary site.
Sony may also cooperate with Tohoku University in Sendai to establish a research and development base that would be devoted to information technology or electronics.
Under one proposal, an organization affiliated with the Miyagi prefectural government would serve as a liaison between Sony and local companies.
(This article was written by Daisuke Fukuma and Yasusaburo Nakamura.)